


Hope's On Fire

by fmd_jade



Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-01-13 18:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18475015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fmd_jade/pseuds/fmd_jade
Summary: Will is on a mission when he runs into someone from his past.The only problem is, she didn't want to be found.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I didn't think I would ever write ff again. But here we are. Hope you enjoy.

If Susan could see him now, fidgeting with the lapel of his tux in the middle of this charity gala, she would probably see it as nervousness. Jitters.

Will wasn't nervous. 

He was restless.

And quite frankly, he was tired of this. 

Just another mission in a different city in a different country. 

He'd already crossed Johannesburg off his list. 

 

He wouldn't find her here.

 

Time to move on.

 

But he couldn't. Not yet anyway. There was a silent auction he had to infiltrate first. 

He moved further into the elegantly decorated ballroom and tapped the rim of his glasses to activate the camera hidden inside the frame. He turned slowly to give the camera a chance to capture everyone in a high resolution and Standish to identify the players here in the room from back in his van.

 _“Oh crap_.” Standish must have spotted him over the camera feed a second before Will did. “ _Oh man, Will. I didn't know, I-“_

Will pretended to scratch his ear to turn off his comm device, deactivating the camera in the same move. Susan would probably make him regret that but he couldn't care less right now. This was probably an encounter that didn’t need any witnesses.

After a last careful glance around the room, he made his way over to the bar, careful not to lose his cover.

Jai stood behind the bar, continuing to hand out drinks as if he hadn't spotted his former teammate. Will knew better.

“Bourbon. Single barrel.” Will ordered as soon as he reached the bar.

Jai sighed, as if resigning himself to his fate. He wordlessly prepared the drink and slid it over the bar top. But before he could pull his hand back, Will grabbed his wrist with considerable strength, trapping it between them.

“Where is she?” He asked coldly. 

Jai pretended not to be fazed. “I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, sir.” He said smoothly.

The pressure on Jai's wrist intensified and he couldn't help but wince at the unexpected pain.

“Don't make me ask a third time. Where is she?” Will’s voice was dangerously low.

“You know I can't tell you.” Jai hissed. He used his trapped hand to pull Will closer over the bar top and squinted at him. “Are those my glasses? What did you do to them?”

Will abruptly let go of Jai's wrist, took his drink with his other hand and downed it in one go. 

“Thanks.” He said as he slammed the glass down between them and took a step back from the bar.

Jai was torn. He wanted to call out to the man he would at one point probably have considered a friend. Maybe not a friend. But they had been halfway there. But then again they both had a mission. And if anything, Jai was a consumate professional.

Will took a hard look at Jai. He opened his mouth as if to add something to lessen the sting of their encounter. But then he heard it from all the way across the ballroom.

He'd have recognized Frankie's musical laughter anywhere. 

Jai saw Will’s whole body tense, then relax a second later. The transition was so seamless that anyone else would have probably missed it. When their gazes met again, Will’s cover was perfectly back in place.

 

:::

 

Frankie wouldn't lie. She loved undercover missions. But after nearly four months of serving as Vincent Santiago's arm candy she was glad this was about to end tonight. When she had met him, he'd been the number two to one of the biggest aspiring criminal entrepreneurs on the West Coast. And thanks to her influence and more often than not interference, she'd built him up to be the number one. Not that he'd ever know even half of what 'Layla' had actually done for him.

She looped her arm through his and caressed his bicep with the other, sending him a beaming smile in the process.

“You okay, baby?” He asked. 

Yeah, she really wanted this to be over, she thought to herself.

“Fine.” She reassured him.

“Don't worry.” He smiled down at her. “We're just going to make a small purchase and then we'll be out of here. Just enjoy yourself.” He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and handed it to her, before taking a glass to himself. 

“To us, baby.” He toasted her, clinking their glasses together. “I wouldn't be here without you.”

Don't I know it, Frankie thought sardonically as she took a sip of champagne and used this moment to let her eyes sweep across the room. She spotted Jai behind the bar. 

Good, so he had gotten her message.

She had been operating on her own for the last months, just how she had wanted it. But having familiar backup tonight would come in handy. 

 

Vincent possessively slung his arm around her waist and pulled her with him as he made the rounds around the room, greeting various business contacts and friends. If anyone in this business could be considered a 'friend', Frankie thought.

And then they stood in front of him. 

Rick Suarte.

Rich, powerful and in possession of a list with very sensitive information. A list he would auction off tonight and the sole reason they were here.

“Ah, Vincent.” Suarte clapped him on the back before taking Frankie’s hand in both of his and pulling ot towards his mouth. “And you brought your beautiful Layla.” He planted a kiss on her hand, held on to it for a moment longer than necessary, then released it.

Douchebag extraordinaire, Frankie thought as she kept herself from wiping her hand on her dress. Instead she sent him her most saccharine smile.

She used the moment the men were engaged in small talk to let her eyes wander across the room again. Something was off. 

She could feel it. 

Almost as if someone was watching her. 

She felt the hair at the back of her neck stand up.

Please God, no.

It couldn't be.

She cast a furtive glance in Jai's direction and spotted him instantly. 

 

Will.

 

“Layla, babe.” Vincent tried to get her attention. 

“Yeah?” She turned back to him as he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

He inclined his head towards the retreating back of Suarte. She followed him with her eyes as Suarte stepped into a side room guarded by two of his men.

“Rick and I are just going to step aside for a moment to discuss business, okay? Gabe is going to keep you company.” He referred to his brother who had up until now stood by the sidelines and was making his way over to the couple.

Frankie nodded at him and let him press a quick kiss to her lips. 

“Hey.” She gently grabbed his neck and pulled him down to her. Frankie might not be into PDA, but Layla definitely was. She kissed him longer than she actually felt comfortable with. “Go get 'em.”

Vincent smiled at her before he too made his way to the side room. Frankie watched as he discreetly let himself be padded down for weapons and then stepped inside. Only then did she consider her options.

She had to be quick. There was Gabe on her left, already making his way towards her. And Will on the right. And judging from the look on his face, she would not be able to ignore him. But she didn't know if he had spotted her 'bodyguard'. 

Time for a tactical retreat.

:::

Will had reactivated his glasses and observed the whole interaction from his place by the bar, playing the casual bystander for anyone who might notice him. His team and Susan in particular were probably furious with him by now. He hadn’t bothered to activate his ear piece to find out. If Frankie was here… He couldn’t miss this opportunity.

He’d seen the way Suarte had taken Frankie’s hand and especially that he hadn’t immediately released it. God, she looked beautiful tonight. Her floor length nude coloured gown showed just enough skin to be intriguing yet classy. And when she moved he saw the slit in the side of her gown going impossibly far up her leg.

It was mesmerizing.

He followed her with his eyes after her boyfriend went after Suarte. The deal was going down now. In the other room. 

Time for plan B, he decided. 

He kept watching as Frankie walked up to a man on her left, young, Hispanic, broad built. He thought about reactivating his comms to get more info on him, but decided against it.

Not yet.

First he had to know what Frankie was doing here.

She laid a hand on the man's arm, smiled up at him and whispered something into his ear. Then she left in the direction of the lady's room. The goon's eyes on her all the way.

Will waited for twenty seconds, but tall, dark and handsome made no move to pursue her. Then he switched off the camera in his glasses and followed her.

:::

Frankie paced the tiles in front of the sinks. 

Fuck.

She felt like a sitting duck. Although meeting him on her terms had seemed like a good idea thirty seconds ago, she now began to regret it.

Too late, she thought as the door opened and Will stepped inside.

He cast a quick look around, making sure they were alone and turned the lock. 

Only then did he look at Frankie. His gaze was dark and intense and she didn’t know what to make of it. He looked... different. Not necessarily older. But wearier and less cheerful than she remembered him. 

God, she had missed him. So fucking much that it was tearing at her insides to see him again.

She watched him, her mouth suddenly dry.

“What are you doing here? Who's your boy toy?” Will asked and broke the silence. He sounded different too. 

“Jealous?” Frankie asked provokingly.

But Will didn’t rise to the bait. “Should I be? I figured that PDA was for that other guy's benefit. Probably heats things up between the sheets.”

Frankie wouldn't give him the satisfaction of admitting it, no matter how right he was. She had slept with Gabe on occasion. Both for fun and because she thought she needed it in case she'd ever have to throw a wrench between the brothers. And the fact that Will had picked up on it just from witnessing their short interaction-

Her thoughts were interrupted when Will stepped up to her, so close that Frankie had to tilt her head up to keep his gaze.

“Who is he?” He asked again, his tone anything but indifferent now.

“Hasn't Standish told you by now? Or whoever is manning the comms?”

His slight hesitation clued her in. 

“You're offline.” Frankie shook her head. That was a stupid and risky move if ever she had seen one. Going offline during a mission. She shook her head. Then she slowly reached up, letting her fingers trail over his jaw and up towards his ear. 

She could see gosebumps forming on his neck at her touch, but Will didn't move a muscle. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked softly.

Frankie didn’t respond, instead she reached further up and activated his ear piece.The onslaught of voices as soon as she did so made him wince, but he kept watching her, never letting his gaze waver.

“ _Jesus, Will, what the hell-_ “ Standish. “ _We're blind here, man._ ”

“ _Will, what is going on?”_ Susan. More put together, yet more worried. “ _Will? Say something! Are you okay?”_

“Yeah, I'm okay.” He rasped. 

Frankie’s hand was still on his cheek. She gently moved it over his skin towards his glasses. She held his gaze for a second, then tapped the frame to trigger the camera built within.

“ _What_?”

“ _Is_ _that_?”

“ _Frankie_?” Will groaned inwardly. Great, Ray was there, too. 

“Hi, guys.” She smiled timidly and waved at the tiny camera.

Will had to take a step back and removed the ear piece. Even from a few feet away Frankie could hear her former team's squeals. 

“Guys, keep it down, okay.” Will said determinedly. “And try not to turn me deaf, will you?” He shook his head and put the ear piece back in.

“What are you doing here?” Frankie asked, getting back to business.

“The list.” Will said. 

“That's it?”

“What, did you think I was here for you?” Will couldn't help but snap. 

“ _Will_!” He ignored the voices in his ear. “We got intel that-“

“Where did you think that intel came from, dumbass?” Frankie interrupted him. “The trade is happening right now and Vincent-”

“ _The trade is happening right now?”_

“ _Will, you were supposed to be there. What are you doing in the bathroom with Frankie?_ ” 

Will abruptly turned off the glasses and his comms. This mission was a mess.

No.

He was a mess.

:::

Back at their temporary command center, Susan whacked Standish over the head. “What do you think they're doing?”

“Uh, guys.” Yume cut in. “He shut us off again.” The young woman tapped her keyboard in frustration.

“ _We really need that list, guys_.” Ray's voice sounded over the speaker. 

“Can we access him remotely?” Susan asked.

Standish rubbed his palms together. “We can try.”

:::

“Look. Vincent is in there right now, getting the list. But the longer we stay in here, the more suspicious Gabe is going to be.”

Will shook his head. “Don't worry about Gabe.”

Frankie's eyes widened. “What did you do?”

“He'll be fine.” Will said and took a step in her direction. 

“He wasn't going to follow me in here.” Frankie pointed out.

“Since when do you care?” Will asked hotly. “Your motto's always been 'shoot first, never ask questions'.”

And besides, as soon as Will had figured out that Frankie had slept with him, he couldn't hold himself back. But she didn't need to know that.

“What was your plan anyway?” Frankie demanded to know. “Because right now, I can't see it working. Instead you’re about to blow my cover.”

Will was still moving towards her until he was well in her personal space and Frankie had to look up at him to keep his gaze. 

She had to force herself not to show any reaction to his proximity. This was not her Will. The ever trusting, heart-on-his-sleeve goofball. Instead he seemed to have a new focus. It made him more intense, more... dangerous. 

And then his hands were around her neck and his lips on hers.


	2. Chapter 2

Frankie pressed back against him as one of her arms wound around his waist and the other up his arm. One of Will's arms moved down her back and pulled her closer, moving her at the same time.  She let out a soft moan as her hip collided with the sink and he deepened the kiss.

His kiss was intense and thorough, and it was everything she remembered it to be.

Will’s lips moved over her neck as he hoisted her up unto the counter. The slit in Frankie’s dress allowed her to open her legs and Will didn’t miss a beat as he stepped right into her, happily letting her knees bracket his hips. Frankie wound her arms around his neck, her fingers threading through the short hair at the back of it as she pulled his head upwards and kissed him again.

Will’s hands meanwhile settled on her legs and travelled up her thighs as she wound them around his waist. She had to bite down on her lip to keep herself from making a sound when he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer. His mouth travelled over her neck, the sensitive spot just beneath her ear and Frankie couldn’t have that. She redirected his lips back to her own and was just about to tug his shirt out of his pants, when she noticed the change in him. His palms smoothed over her sides and while he was still kissing her, it lost something of the desperation it had been tinged with and instead turned into something soft. Almost loving.

Frankie put her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her. Will didn’t get far. His hands were still on her hips and her legs were still wound around his waist. She slowly untangled them as he let go of her hips and settled his hands on the counter on either side of her. His gaze was fixed somewhere on her collarbone.

“Will.” She whispered. But when he lifted his head and she saw the torn look in his eyes, she didn’t know what to say. Instead she just shook her head and pushed him further away, severing all physical contact between them. She’d never seen him so quiet and it was starting to freak her out.

She hopped down from the counter and turned around to inspect herself in the mirror.

He had really done a number on her.

She ignored the reflection of his puppy dog eyes and focused on making herself look presentable again. She fixed her hair as best as she could, straightened her dress and then moved over towards the door without sparing him another glance.

“Stay out of my way, boy scout.”

“Frankie, wait.” He captured her arm and turned her around but let go of her as soon as he saw her angry look. She had probably killed men for less.

“I spent the last five months looking for you.” He said instead.

“I didn't ask you to.” Frankie pointed out.

“I just wanted to talk to you.” And there they were. Traces of the old Will shining through.  Eager and hopeful.

“To tell me what?” She asked.

Will didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything.

At his continued silence, Frankie nodded, as if to herself. “Good talk, boy scout.”

Then she turned the lock and disappeared through the open door. 

:::

Will surveyed the ball room as soon as he stepped into it and reflexively straightened his jacket. He had checked his complexion in the mirror for a second before he had reactivated his camera and comms and gone after Frankie. 

Standish had immediately bombarded him with various questions while Susan had been suspiciously quiet. He hadn't answered any of them, aside from informing them that he was on his way back inside.

His gaze travelled to the other side of the room where various men were emerging from the side room. Six to be exact.

“The trade has gone through.” He commented the scene. 

“ _Which one do you think got it_?” Susan asked.

Will immediately searched for Frankie. She stood to the side, looking for all the world as if she had been waiting there for the past fifteen minutes. He watched as her boyfriend, Vincent she'd called him, sidled up to her, grabbed her waist and leaned down to plant a kiss on her. 

“ _Oh, man. I'm so sorry_.” Will ignored Standish. Instead he looked at Jai and saw him busy preparing drinks. But his focus was on the room and specifically on Frankie. As if he was waiting for a cue.

“Frankie’s got it.” Will concluded.

“ _So that’s it_?” Standish asked over the comms.

“No.” Will said assertively. “We don’t know her angle. Our mission is still on.”

“ _Will, are you sure about this_?” Susan asked.

No.

No, he wasn’t.

“Positive.”

::

Frankie let go of Vincent and beamed up at him. Her hand trailed over his neck and the necklace she found there. She could feel Will's eyes on her without turning around.

“I'm so proud of you.” She cooed. “Now let’s get out of here.”

“Come on, baby.” Vincent slung his hands around her hips. Frankie had to swallow at the memory of Will’s hands there not fifteen minutes ago. “Let’s celebrate first. There’s champagne, there’s dancing and you look ravishing tonight, babe.”

“Babe.” Frankie forced a smile on her face and quickly looked around. None of the party guests around her seemed to pay them much attention, but she knew that could easily be a fallacy. Her tone was soft but decisive. “You just outbid five people who are still here and would like nothing more than to get rid of you right now. Staying might not be in our best interest.”

Not to mention the eager FBI agent whose eyes she could feel burning a hole into her back.

She leaned up to kiss Vincent to soften her words when the room suddenly plunged into darkness, the music coming to an abrupt stop.

“What the-“

Frankie held on to Vincent’s shoulder and pulled him with her while she reached for the gun strapped to her thigh.

“Babe?” He asked over the general commotion of people asking what was going on.

At the same moment she could feel a familiar hand at her elbow and felt someone step up beside her.

Will.

She turned her head to glare at him, even if he couldn’t see it in the surrounding darkness.

“Did you do this?” She hissed.

“ _Nuhuh, we didn't do this man_.” Standish said over the comms.

“No.” Will simply said. He never let go of her arm, the commotion around them enough to separate them if he did. The sound of the windows breaking interrupted anything else he could have said. His glasses might not have exact night vision, but it was enough to let him know that they had additional company. Five men, tactical gear. They had probably roped down from the roof. And he could only think of one target they might be after. “But I’m guessing they did.”

He tried to pull Frankie with him while she in turn didn’t let go of Vincent.

“Layla, what’s going on-“ At the unmistakable sound of silenced gun shots, Vincent’s body grew slack beneath her hand.

Will immediately covered Frankie’s body with his own, forcing her into a crouch as he fired back at their assailants.

 “Standish we need lights and a way out.” Will sounded out of breath as he pulled Frankie up and in the direction of the bar.

Frankie swore to herself. She would have loved to return fire, but she couldn’t see a damn thing. They weren’t the only ones who had come packing tonight and as people started to understand what was going on, everyone seemed to fire at random, hoping to hit someone.

It was like a damn saloon in here.

A distinctive whistle over her left shoulder gave her some direction and after a moment’s hesitation she grabbed Will’s hand and pulled him in that direction, all the while trying to stay as low as possible to dodge any errant bullets.

Seriously.

Saloon fight.

:::

Will let himself be dragged through the room. He winced as he stepped over someone in the dark.

“Standish, what the hell is going on? Who are these guys?”

The agility and speed with which they operated let Will know that these were A: professionals and B: in possession of night vision goggles.

“ _I can’t tell you, man. I mean yet. I can’t tell you yet_.” Standish replied.

“Extraction?”

“ _We’re working on it_.” Susan reassured him.

“Standish we need lights, like right now. And I mean bright as the freaking sun!” Temporarily blinding them might be their only chance.

“ _On it.”_

He saw someone coming their way to his right and sharply pulled on his left hand. As expected, the motion threw Frankie off balance and he drew her back against his chest at the same time as he turned and fired the shot over her shoulder.

“Thanks.” She rasped against his neck before taking a step back from him.

“ _Sorry man, they cut all the power. No lights._ ” Standish prevented any possible answer.

Will pulled Frankie behind the bar and down, covering her as best as he could as bullets followed their way. “We need to get out of here.”

Frankie nodded and turned her head into his chest as shattered glass came down around them. His free hand on her neck was a comforting weight.

She lifted her head and let out a whistle Will thought sounded familiar. The answer only took a few seconds and came from a few metres to their left.

“That way.” Frankie said. “Cover us.” She instructed as she suddenly leapt to her feet and pulled Will towards the service entrance.

“Took you long enough” Jai panted as they reached him.

“Jai?” Will asked. “You okay?”

“Oh great, you brought him.” Jai commented drily.

He opened the door and ushered Will and Frankie through. The silence in the narrow hallway behind was a stark contrast to the shootout that was taking place in the ball room. It was pitch black in here as well.

“We’re clear.” Will informed his team.

“Not yet.” Jai panted before he let out a groan.

“Jai!” Frankie still couldn’t see anything, but she followed his heavy breathing until she reached him where he was slumped against the wall. “How bad?”

Jai groaned as her examining hands found the bullet wound on his shoulder. “Just a scratch.”

“Yeah, sounds like it.” Will commented. He appeared on Jai’s other side, slung his arm around his shoulder and helped him along. “We have to get going. They’ll notice soon enough that the package is gone.”

He couldn’t see the look Frankie cast in his direction.

Jai squinted up at Will’s face as he let himself be helped along, flanked by Will and Frankie on either side of him. “Seriously. Who messed with my design?”

:::

Together they managed their way to the underground garage and Will deposited Jai against a pillar while he and Frankie looked for a ride.

“Here.” Frankie found an unlocked SUV and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Take this.” Will appeared at her side, stuck his head inside and handed her a small magnetic disk. Frankie installed it under the steering wheel and activated it with a tap of her finger. A few seconds later, the motor started.

Will jumped back and hurried over towards Jai while Frankie brought the car around. When she reached the two men, she jumped out, keeping the motor running and helped Will to wrangle Jai into the passenger seat.

“That’s a new car. Try not to bleed all over it.” Frankie joked.

“Sure thing, boss.” Jai tried a smile.

Will closed the door on Jai and looked at Frankie. “I’ll drive.” He hurried around the car, waiting for Frankie to get in as well.

She didn’t.

Instead, she just stood there and shook her head.

Will let go of the driver’s door and took two steps around the hood.

“Go.” Was all Frankie said.

“Frankie.”

“You have to go!”

“I can’t just leave you here!”

“God damnit, Chase, leave! They’re going to be here any second. You need to get Jai out of here, and I-“ She stopped herself from saying anything else.

Will just shook his head. “No. Not while you still have the list.”

Frankie looked taken aback for a second, then her gaze hardened. Will rounded the hood of the car and slowly made his way over to her.

“I know you have it. You took it off Vincent the moment he stepped out of the room and kissed you.” Will had been watching her more closely than she’s realized. “And I can’t let you leave with it.”

“What are you going to do?” Frankie challenged him.

“I’m not going to fight you for it.” Will said. He cast a quick look towards the car. Jai seemed to be unconscious by now.

Frankie shot a look in the direction of the hallway they had come from and took a few steps backwards and further away from the car. From him. “That’s too bad, boy scout. Take care of Jai.” She instructed, then turned and ran off.

:::

Will pushed the door to the safe house open and staggered through with Jai’s arm slung over his shoulder.

“Jai!” Susan exclaimed at the same time as Standish jumped up from his place in front of the computer screen.

“My man!”

They hurried towards Will, took Jai off his hands and deposited him in a chair. The med kit was already set out nearby.

“The prodigal son returns!” Standish exclaimed, while Jai just shot him a weak smile and winced.

“Something like that.”

Will looked down at Jai, then he met Susan’s imploring gaze.

“What?” He asked testily.

“Do I have to say it?” Susan prompted.

Will just shook his head and brushed past her, leaving Jai with his team.

Jai curiously watched the encounter between the two old friends. “What’s going on here?” He asked. Then his eyes fell on the only person in the room he didn’t know. “Who are you?”

“Jai, play nice.” Susan playfully scolded him as she manoeuvred him out of his jacket. 

“Hi.” The slender Asian woman, who had up until now stood at the side-lines, smiled at him and gave a small wave. “I'm Yume. I'm the new technical advisor?! I'm a big fan of your work by the way.”

Jai shot both Susan and Standish a dark look. “You replaced me?”

Susan just shook her head and looked at Will for support. But he was standing by the window on the far side of the room and was busy talking on the phone. It sounded like Ray was on the other end of the line.

“Look man.” Standish tried to appease his friend. “It's not like it was easy, okay? But once Mom and Dad split up and they each got one of us in the divorce, what were we supposed to do?”

Jai just huffed and angrily tore away his shirt sleeve to look at his bleeding shoulder.

“Something like that.” Susan muttered as she pushed Jai's hands away to take a look for herself. 

“I'm a big fan of your work, by the way.” Yume cut in, not picking up on Jai's obvious disdain. “The neurotoxin you developed-“

“Did you take my specs for the glasses?” Jai interrupted her while he let Susan treat his wound.

“Oh, yes, I did.” Yume actually blushed. “I actually modified the fraction of the lens to extrapolate-“

Jai sat up, piercing her with a glare. “Stop messing with my designs.”

“Jai.” Susan chided him and pushed him back down. “Yume has actually been a big help for us.”

Jai scornfully looked her up and down. “Whatever. You are just a step-child.”

:::

“So, how is he?” Will asked as he stepped up to them.

Susan just finished bandaging his shoulder.

“ _He_ is fine.” Jai cut in before she could answer.

“Good.” Will wouldn’t let himself be deterred. “So, you can tell me what the hell happened tonight.”

“Oh, I should tell you?” Jai rose in his seat, but Susan gently held him back and stood up instead.

“He’s right, Will. If anyone’s got some explaining to do, it’s you.” She said and crossed her arms in front of her. “You can’t just go offline during a mission and leave us blind here.”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really? So, you didn’t notice that we weren’t in contact for most of the time tonight or that the camera wasn’t transmitting?”

Will just shrugged. “Must have been some electromagnetic interference.” He steadfastly claimed.

“That’s bullshit!”

“Well, Ray was fine with the explanation.”

“Ray would believe anything to get back into your good books. Something you have been taking advantage of for the last, I don’t know…” She pretended to think about it. “Five months?!”

Standish, Jai and Yume watched back and forth between them.

“You don’t like how I’ve been running things?” Will didn’t sound too put out by that. If anything, he seemed more like he was spoiling for a fight.

Susan held out her hands placatingly. “Will. Whatever ‘interference’ there was, you should know that Standish managed to eliminate it.”

It took a moment before Will understood what she was trying to tell him. They had remotely reactivated the body cam. His look wandered over towards Standish, who shrugged sheepishly, barely meeting his eyes.

Oh fuck.

They had witnessed his encounter with Frankie in the bathroom.

He turned without a word and left.

Susan watched after him as he disappeared inside the house. Only then did she let go of the breath she had been holding.

Jai looked between Standish and Susan. “What happened to his sunny disposition?"

 


	3. Chapter 3

Susan found Will in their safe house’s kitchen a while later. He was sitting in front of his laptop, the video feed from tonight’s mission playing in front of him. She observed as he just sat there and watched it motionlessly. He paused on an image of Frankie and just… looked at her.

Was he seeing the same things she herself had noticed about their friend a few hours ago?

“Was there anything you wanted?” He suddenly asked over his shoulder.

Susan took a deep breath and reminded herself that this man was her friend. And beneath this dismissive and cold behaviour sat a very fragile heart. Sometimes, like tonight, that was all that prevented her from leaving his sorry ass.

She stepped further into the room and sank down on a chair next to him.

“Can we talk about what happened tonight?” She asked and nodded in the direction of the screen.

“What’s there to talk about? You saw what happened.” He managed to sound less confrontational.

Susan huffed. “I know I saw _something_. I just don’t understand what happened.”

Will leaned forward until his elbows rested on his knees and scrubbed his hands over his face. Then he turned to face Susan. “This is not going to work, is it?” He sounded weary.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Susan admitted. “Ever since Frankie left it’s like this wall has built around you and I have no idea what’s going on. You have to talk to me, Will.”

“That bad, huh?”

Susan just nodded. Yes. She knew he had wanted to find Frankie, find out what the hell was going on. Hell, they all did. But Will… with every passing day and week he had closed himself of from the team until even Susan had no idea what was going on inside his head anymore. She could make educated guesses of course. The best of which were, that his frustration over Frankie’s continued unexplained absence turned him more reckless and violent than she’d ever seen him.

Will gestured towards the screen in front of them. “I just thought that once I found her…” He trailed off.

“What? That she’d fall into your arms?”

“Something like that.” He confessed sheepishly.

“Well. That’s never been Frankie’s style, has it?” She tried to joke.

Will just snorted in response.

“You really screwed up tonight.” Susan said matter-of-factly.

Will hung his head.

“You were on a mission.” Susan continued. “You can’t let your personal feelings interfere like that. And frankly-” She laid a hand on his arm until he lifted his head and met her gaze. “They _never_ have before.”

“Yeah.” Will agreed. “I know.” He offered no other explanation.

“What’s going on in here?” Susan tapped the side of his head.

Will laughed mirthlessly. “You don’t want to know.” He took a deep breath, then looked at her again. “I’ve been doing a pretty lousy job at leading this team, huh?”

Susan shrugged. “There were some less than stellar moments.” She relented. “It happens. But something like tonight can never happen again.”

“Which part exactly?”

“Why did you let Frankie leave with the list?” Susan asked.

Will sat up straight at her sharp words. “What did you expect me to do?”

“Your job.”

:

::

:

Will and Susan re-joined the others in the living room just as Standish and Jai were catching up with each other. Yume had busied herself at one of the computers.

“Hey.” Will addressed the team. “I just want to apologise to you all. I know I screwed this mission up for all of us.”

“It’s okay.” Standish, always the easily forgiving type, said.

“No.” Will cut in. “It’s not. And I know that now.” He shot a quick look in Susan’s direction. “I just… Frankie was there and…” He was clearly lost for words.

Standish tried to save him from having to say anything else. “We get it, Will. We’ve all done stupid stuff because of a girl.”

“No, I haven’t.” Jai commented.

“If you ever call Frankie a ‘girl’ to her face, she’s going to break your arms.” Susan added.

“Alright!” Will cut in to keep everyone on topic. “Thanks, Standish.”

He turned towards Jai. “How are you? How is your shoulder?”

“I guess I’ll survive if I make it through this pity fest.”

“Good enough for me.” Will grimaced. “Are you with us?”

“I don’t even know what’s going on here.” Jai said.

“Yeah.” Standish chimed in. “What are we going to do now?”

“Well. Our mission was to retrieve that list and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.” Will summed it up. “It has information about weapon’s deals, drug cartels, human trafficking, money laundering…”

“Well, Frankie has the list now. Correct?” Standish asked.

“And we’re not the only ones after it.” Susan added, talking about the men who had raided the gala.

Standish looked back and forth between Will and Susan. “So… what’s our real mission?”

“Get the list and protect Frankie.” Will decided.

“Do we know what she wants with it?” Susan asked.

Everyone turned to look at Jai.

“Don’t look at me.” He said defensively. “I don’t know what she’s up to.”

“Then how come you’re here?” Will asked.

“Look. I’ve been minding my own business, went where the company wanted me to go. Frankie contacted me a week ago. Told me she’d be at this charity ball and needed backup. That’s it.”

“Do you know the guy she was with?” Will asked.

“No.” Jai shook his head.

“Do you know where she might be now?” Will continued.

“No.”

“Does she have any contacts in Johannesburg? Anyone she would go to?”

“None that I know of.”

“Would you tell me if you did?”

“Probably not.” Jai dead-panned.

“What?” Standish asked.

“Typical.” Will muttered to himself and started pacing.

“Don’t start this shit with me again, man.” Jai accused Will. “I didn’t know where she was five months ago, and I don’t know where she is now.”

“What are you talking about?” Will demanded.

“I’m tired of you treating me like I’m betraying you.”

“All I want is to find and protect Frankie.” Will argued.

“And you think I don’t? She left and she didn’t want to be found. I respected that.”

“Okay, stop.” Susan put herself between Jai and Will. “Let’s focus.”

Will took a deep breath and stepped back.

Jai relaxed slightly.

“Thank you.” Susan muttered. “Now. Frankie has the list and the guys who crashed the party earlier are probably in pursuit of her. What do we know about the guy she was with? What did she call him? Vincent?”

Will nodded.

Yume timidly raised her hand. “I might know something.”

Everyone turned towards her and she had to swallow at their collective attention. She waited until everyone had gathered around her computer and started the recording from tonight’s mission. Will averted his eyes during the bathroom incident. The camera had been pointed at the mirror and perfectly captured everything. Living through it once had been enough. Then came the moment where Will had re-entered the ballroom. Through the various guests, you could see Frankie standing near the opposite wall. Everyone watched once again as Vincent walked up to her and kissed her. After he’d let go, Yume paused the video and zoomed in on his face.  She opened a different tab and had his file already open.

“Vincent Santiago.” She read out loud. “He’s running guns, drugs, essentially anything he can get his hands on.”

“Why does that name sound familiar?” Susan asked.

“He made the watchlist last month after eliminating a few of his adversaries and rose to power on the West Coast.” Yume tapped away at her keyboard and opened the few photos the FBI had on file for him. “He got increasingly better at hiding himself, these are some of the rare photos of him and his brother Gabriel.”

Frankie’s work, Will thought. She’d know how to avoid unwanted attention.

“What about Frankie?” Jai asked.

“Do we know which name she used?” Yume asked. “Then we could check with known associates.”

“Layla.” Will supplied. “He called her Layla.”

“You know, I could just tell you what you want to know.”

Everyone turned towards the front door.

Frankie.

She’d changed out of the evening gown they had seen her in on the video just moments ago, but it was her in the flesh.

Will raised his gun on her.

Frankie raised her hands. “Heyho.” Her gaze never left Will’s.

The rest of the team watched the scene in front of them. When neither Will nor Frankie said anything else, Susan threw Will a dark look, decidedly walked up to her friend and embraced her. Will lowered his gun and just watched the two women fiercely hug each other.

Standish was already standing next in line.

Frankie relished the feeling of her friend’s arms around her and to Susan’s surprise strongly held on to her. She watched over Susan’s shoulder as Will re-holstered his gun and wordlessly left the room.

:  
::

:

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

_Before_

* * *

 

It had happened one night after an especially trying and ultimately unsuccessful mission. Frankie and Will had been fighting throughout it all as it seemed to be the norm for them nowadays.

They had shared a hotel room for the umpteenth time and had stopped caring about sleeping arrangements months ago. After saving each other’s lives, sleeping next to each other didn’t seem that big of a deal. And if they ever woke up in closer contact than they’d fallen asleep to the night before, they didn’t talk about it.

Ironically enough, the closer they unconsciously moved at night, the more they fought and argued by day.

Will had won at rock, paper, scissors and was the first under the hot shower. He’d roughly scrubbed his hands through his hair, hoping to stave off some of the frustration at today’s botched mission.

He’d just been reaching for the soap when the shower door had opened behind him and the cool air on his back had alerted him to her presence.

He’d turned around, not in the mood for another argument. But Frankie hadn’t come to finally demand her turn under the hot spray. Instead, she’d wordlessly entered the shower stall and closed the glass door behind herself. When Will just raised his eyebrows, she’d met his gaze unapologetically.

“Frankie? What are you doing?”

She’d shook her head. “Don’t say anything.”

“But-“

Frankie interrupted him with a single finger over his lips. “Not. A. Word.”

Will had looked at her long and hard, then he’d nodded.

His hands had reached for her waist the same moment hers had wound around his neck. Their lips had met in the middle as Will had pulled her body flush to his own and moved them under the spray.

 

It had been glorious.

 

The same had been true when it had happened again three days later.

And a week after that.

 

Only ever on missions, never when they were at home.

 

The first few times, Frankie had to keep Will from saying anything, telling him keep quiet. After that, she didn’t have to, he abided by her wishes. Instead he’d used his body to tell her everything he couldn’t put into words and hoped she understood.

 

Outwardly, things had normalised themselves after that. Their constant fighting had turned into fond bickering. And while some of their teammates certainly had their suspicions, collectively they were just grateful.

That is, until a mission in Manila had went sideways.

 

:

::

:

“Hey.” Will walked up behind her as she stood over the sink in their shared hotel room and applied her make up for tonight’s party.

“Done casing the venue?”

He nodded and reached out with his hand to move a stray lock of hair on her shoulder. When he was done, he leaned down and brushed his lips over her exposed skin.

“What are you doing?” Frankie warned him.

Will met her gaze in the mirror while his hands trailed over her shoulders and down her back. “Getting into character?”

Frankie’s look darkened and she shook her head. The fact that she hadn’t yet broken his arms as his hands wound around her waist gave him hope. He stepped closer, bringing his front into full contact with her back, and pressed another soft kiss to her neck.

“Don’t.” She moved her head away from his lips.

Will sighed in resignation while Frankie turned in his embrace.

“Don’t make this into something it’s not.”

“Maybe it already is.” He pointed out.

“I told you not to say anything.” She reiterated.

“I didn’t.” Will objected.

“But you’re thinking it.” Frankie quipped. She stepped out of his arms and left the bathroom, presumably to finish getting ready.

Will put his hands on the counter on either side of the sink and looked at his own reflection. He didn’t know whether to curse Frankie or himself.

:

:

Frankie wasn’t completely clueless.

She knew that Will wanted… _more_. It’s who he was and what had drawn her to him in the first place. For him, their little arrangement ranged beyond simple comfort.

And she knew he wasn’t happy with her right now.

Which was why she didn’t complain when he pulled her onto the dancefloor. Ever since they had started sleeping with each other, he liked to play up the couple part whenever possible. It was the only time he got to be affectionate with her and she couldn’t deny him that.

And if she actually enjoyed dancing with him, being in his arms… Well. She’d never tell.

She leaned closer into him, relishing the gentle touch of his hand on her bare back. “The hotel has a hot tub on the roof. We should check it out when we’re done tonight.” She murmured into his ear - the one not currently occupied by his earpiece.

Will leaned back until he could meet her gaze. Frankie’s eyes burned into his, willing him to understand.

This was her idea of a white flag. He wouldn’t get any other apology.

Over the comms Jai informed them their target had arrived at the party and was just making his way through the entrance.

Frankie raised her eyebrows. His window of opportunity was closing.

Will found himself nodding while he still thought about it. A semi-public place like the hotel pool was risky. Anyone could stumble upon them there, including their team mates. It was probably just the thrill she was seeking.

A small answering smile played over Frankie’s lips and she wondered if their cover allowed for her to kiss him right here and now. By the looks on his face Will was contemplating the same thing.

:

:

They never made it to the roof.

Instead, Frankie found herself in a hospital wash room furiously scrubbing away the blood on her hands in the early hours of the morning.

She registered the door opening but didn’t bother to turn around.

“Hey.” Susan sounded about as tired as Frankie felt.

Frankie just grunted in acknowledgement.

“His doctor just came out to talk to us. The surgery went well and he’s in recovery now.”

“Great.” Frankie replied curtly.

Susan came closer and turned off the faucet. “Hey. Look at me.” She demanded.

Frankie took a deep breath, then met her friend’s gaze. Her expression gave nothing away.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Frankie just huffed. “Yeah, right.” She turned and yanked a few paper towels out of the dispenser. When she dried her hands, she couldn’t hide a wince when the rough material scraped over her hands.

“Oh, honey.” Susan took her hands into hers and inspected them. They were a fiery red where Frankie had scrubbed them too forcefully. “Frankie.”

“It’s fine.” Frankie tugged her hands back.

“Hey.” Susan chided. “You can play it tough for the guys, but I know you. I heard you calling his name when he was shot, and I saw the way you held him when he was down.”

Frankie’s jaw tightened. “I’m fine.”

“Girl, you’re not fine. And I don’t need a doctorate in psychology to see that.”

Frankie’s face flickered with hurt and she tried to cover it by dropping her gaze. Susan took a deep breath, once again damning her stubbornness. With a long-mastered patience, she lifted her hands and held on to her friend’s upper arms, making her look up. Despite Frankie’s best efforts, Susan didn’t miss the tell-tale glistening in her eyes.

“Honey. The man you’ve been sleeping with has just been critically hurt. And you’re hiding in here and punishing yourself for something that was completely out of your control. You’re not fine.”

Susan watched as a single tear made its way down Frankie’s cheek.

“How long have you known?” Frankie stammered, blinking furiously.

“I had my suspicions for a while. Mainly because you stopped threatening to shoot him all the time and you know…” Susan trailed off and shrugged.

“What?”

“You’re being cute with each other when you think no one is watching.” Susan smiled.

“No, we’re not.” Frankie argued.

Susan just sighed. “Does this really matter now?” She watched as tears filled Frankie’s eyes once more and it took all her effort to hold them in. “He’s going to be fine.”

Frankie nodded, her lips tightly pressing together, and when Susan moved forward to hug her friend, Frankie was already halfway there. She held her through the silent shaking of her shoulders and marvelled at the fact that even now Frankie was determined not to make a sound. Instead, she quietly clung to her friend and sobbed into her shoulder.

“It’s okay.” Susan comforted her.

It took a minute, but gradually the shaking subsided.

“I hate him so much.” Frankie mumbled into Susan’s shoulder.

Susan leaned back and wiped over her friend’s tear stained cheeks. “Oh, honey. We both know that’s not true.”

“I have never needed anyone in my entire life.” Frankie pointed out.

“And now?”

“Now I want to shoot him again for making me care so damn much.”

“It’s what he does.” Susan pointed out with a fond smile.

“Dammit.” Frankie shook her head and angrily wiped away the remaining moisture on her face.

“What?”

Frankie chuckled. “It really is a virus.”

Susan shared her smile before pulling her phone out of her pocket. She’d had a new text.

“Jai just texted me. Will is awake and doing well.” She reassuringly looked at Frankie but her smile faltered upon seeing her solemn expression. “Frankie?”

When she answered, her voice was thick with guilt. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Susan glanced down at her phone when a new message came in. “Well, Will is asking about you and wants to know if you’re okay. So you better make up your mind.”

Frankie remained quiet, not saying anything.

“Frankie?”

Susan waited for her to say something. She wanted to hear her say that of course, she’d go and see Will and even come clean to him about what happened tonight and how terrified it made her feel. Who was she kidding? This was Frankie. And as much as she’d changed, there was still a myriad of things holding her back. She just hoped she didn’t break her friend’s heart in the process. Or her own.

Susan sighed. “Do you want my advice?”

“No.”

“Okay. Well, then just let me say this: He cares about you. A lot.”

“He’ll get over it.” Frankie countered.

“It’s not him I’m worried about.” Susan explained. When she didn’t get a reaction from Frankie, she sighed in defeat. She couldn’t find anymore resolve to help her feel better after the night they’d all been through. Tough love it was. “I’m gonna go check on Will. You can finish your little pity party and decide whether you’re in or out.”

Frankie watched her leave, then hung her head.

_Fuck_.

:

:

Frankie took a last fortifying breath, fighting every instinct she had, and walked into the hospital room in front of her.

Will’s eyes flew open and he gingerly turned his head towards the door.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Frankie gave him a small wave and shuffled over towards him. Her eyes flickered over his body, cataloguing every scrape and bruise.

“Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” Hot anger flared up in her chest and she walked closer towards his bed. “Do you have any idea what we’ve been through? Do you remember what happened tonight? You’ve been shot! Not just once, but twice! You bled all over the damn place! I’ll be surprised if the hotel doesn’t file reimbursement claims!”

Frankie shook her head when she saw him grin weakly, clearly pleased with himself.

“It’s not funny.” She snapped, but most of the fight had left her.

“I know.” He rasped. “And I remember. But it’s been a few hours and from the way Susan acted I was afraid you were halfway around the world by now.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. Running away from… this.” He wasn’t holding anything back.

Frankie scowled at him and hoped he didn’t know just how close she’d come to do exactly that.

“There is no ‘this’. Just because we slept together-“

“Hey.” Will interrupted her. “Don’t talk like that.”

Like it didn’t mean anything.

“Why? Does that go against your delicate sensitivity?” Frankie tried for levity.

“Something like that.” He whispered.

For a moment, they just looked at each other, neither saying a word. Then Frankie stepped up to his bed and nudged his thigh with her hand.

“Move.”

Will just looked at her with wide eyes but did as she asked, making room for her on the narrow bed.

Frankie sat down on the mattress, slid off her shoes and lay down beside him. At her careful prodding he lifted his arms until Frankie could lie her head against his chest, his arm wound around her. Will just thought that he’d gladly get shot if it meant cuddling with Frankie when her warm hand settled on his. He turned his hand and threaded his fingers between hers.

He turned his head until he breathed in the soapy smell of her hair. “Hey, tootsie.” He said softly. “Are you taking advantage of me to hold my hand?”

Frankie laughed into his chest. “Shut up, boo. I can still leave.”

“Yeah, you can. Don’t worry, I’ll come after you.” He slurred.

Frankie turned her head to look up at his face. His eyes were slowly drifting close. “Oh yeah? Right now you wouldn’t even make it to the door.”

“Just give me a few days, I’ll catch up with you.” Will mumbled.

:

:

Frankie softly closed the door behind her and cast a quick glance at Will’s sleeping form to make sure she hadn’t woken him. Then she pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was the third time tonight that she was receiving a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?”

“ _Frankie? It’s Maria. I need your help_.”

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the chapter you probably wanted to read as much as I dreaded writing it.

Frankie let go of Standish and shot him a grateful smile. She also noticed the new face in the room, but decided that introductions had to wait. She turned back towards Susan.

“Do you remember what we talked about in the hospital in Manila?”

Susan frowned at her. Of course she remembered. It had been the last time she’d seen Frankie until tonight.

“I’m in. I’ve always been in.” Frankie reassured her.

“Okay.” Susan smiled and couldn’t help but hug her friend again. “But we’re going to need a better explanation than that.”

Frankie let go. “I know. But I think I should probably start with Will.”

Susan nodded in agreement.

“Any advice?” Frankie asked hopefully.

Susan drew a deep breath, obviously having to think about it. “No.” She settled. “You really messed him up and as much as I love you, I can’t help you with this.”

Frankie grimaced but understood.

Standish gave her an encouraging pat on the back. “He’s probably in the kitchen.”

Frankie shared another smile with him.

Time to face the music

::

::

Standish had been right. When Frankie made her way to the kitchen, she found Will pacing the worn linoleum floor.

She cast a quick glance around the room. The appliances seemed pretty standard and a large dining table stood between them, laden with equipment and files.

“Hey.” She interrupted his musings.

Will stopped and his head swivelled around to look at her, but he didn’t say anything.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions.” Frankie started carefully.

“Ya think?”

“Okay, fair enough.” She muttered more to herself.

“I mean, what the hell, Frankie?” Will didn’t expect an answer and Frankie didn’t give him one. “You just left and after looking for you for months I find you here in the middle of our mission of all places?”

Frankie took a few careful steps further into the room, keeping the table between them.

She knew she deserved it.

Every ounce of anger he held.

“Fuck.” Will ran a hand through his already unruly hair. Then he faced her again with a new-found determination. “Are you okay?”

The question threw her off guard.

“What?”

Will took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

Frankie nodded, not sure where he was going with this.

“Good.” He stated resolutely. “Because I’m so fucking mad at you and I just want to know now before I fly off in a rage and I’d really hate to have to feel bad about it later.”

She couldn’t help the small smile on her lips.

God, this man…

“Where the hell have you been?” He continued.

Frankie shrugged. Summing up the last five months wasn’t easy. “Here and there.”

Will just huffed in frustration.

“Look, I know you’re angry, but-“

“Angry? What, you think we slept together, and I feel scorned that you left?”

Frankie swallowed at the cold undertone in his voice.

“You just left, Frankie! Do you have any idea how worried we were? How worried I was that something had happened to you? I’ve spent the last months looking for you half afraid that I’d find you lying dead in a ditch somewhere! So yes, I’m angry! I’m furious even! But most of all I’m hurt that you could do this to me after everything we’ve been through.”

Frankie felt tears burning at the back of her eyes and took a deep breath. Deep down she knew she deserved his anger. That didn’t mean she had to like it or take it lightly.

“Believe it or not, not everything is about you! I didn’t ask you to come after me!”

“You didn’t have to!” He boomed.

 “You think it was easy for me? I did what I had to do! I’m sorry your precious feelings got hurt in the process, but this is how it had to be.” She snapped at him.

“Apologising never was your strong suit.” Will muttered.

“I’m not apologising.” Frankie clarified.

They stared at each other for a few long moments, neither one willing to back down.

In the end, it was Will who took a deep breath and let the tension visibly ease from his shoulders. He turned and pulled a thick and well-worn file folder out from a bag and dropped it onto the table.

“What is that?” Frankie asked, the fight slowly leaving her voice.

“You.”

“What?”

Her eyes flitted over his face and he leafed through the file while he talked. “It’s everything I could find on you since your disappearing act. The morning I was in the hospital, you received a phone call from an unregistered number. It lasted 3.8 seconds. After that you disabled your phone. You resurfaced ten days later in Caracas. A surveillance cam at an international bank’s branch office caught you there, emptying a security deposit box.”

Frankie looked upwards and blinked rapidly.

“Three weeks later you were in San Diego and then I’m a little fuzzy. Could have been either Caracas again or Mexico City.”

“Will, stop.” She pleaded.

“There was a bombing in Honduras that matched your MO a week after that.”

“Stop.”

“After that you-“

“Please. Stop.”

Will met her eyes and regretted it a moment later. He’d always cherished their connection. How they seemed to read each other so well in the field, how they managed to check in with each other, gauge the other’s intentions with just a look. It had always been easy. And in the instances where they’d held each other, he thought he could make her understand what she wouldn’t allow him to say through that very connection.

But now, as he met her pleading gaze, saw the tears threatening to fall, he cursed his ability to read her. He knew this wasn’t easy for her. To swallow her pride, to admit she was wrong.

And dammit, he wanted to be angry with her. To stay angry.

“I cashed in every favour ever owed to me and basically promised away my first born trying to find you.”

Frankie just watched him, not saying anything.

“But when Jai left three months after you did…” His voice displayed some of the helplessness he must have felt.

“What? Why did he leave?”

Will shrugged and lowered his gaze. “He wanted to find you, too. But I mean… He knows you better than anyone. I guess he just realised you didn’t want to be found. And in the end, I made it impossible for him to stay.”

Frankie couldn’t stand it any longer. She rounded the table and stepped up to him.

“Will.” She laid a hand on his cheek, turning his head until he met her gaze. “I didn’t want to leave. Not the team and… not you.”

She didn’t know she could be this honest with someone.

“I really missed you.” Will rasped.

Frankie just nodded, too busy pressing her lips together to say anything. It wasn’t enough to keep her tears from finally springing over.

It was enough of an incentive for Will to fold her into his arms and pull her against his chest.

Frankie went willingly and without protest. She wound her own arms around his back and just held on.

She felt his breath in her hair and closed her eyes at the feeling of his body against her own. Will dropped his head and just for a moment let his lips ghost over the skin of her neck. It left her with goose bumps.

Then he let go and took a step back. “Why did you leave? And why are you here now?”

Frankie took a deep breath and wiped at the moisture under her eyes. “I owe someone a favour. That’s what that phone call was about.”

“What does that have to do with Vincent and the list?” When she wouldn’t answer, he continued. “You have to give me something here, Frankie.”

“I know.” She shot him a watery smile and clearly struggled with her next words. “The person that called me… I’ve known them for a long time and I owe them… _everything_.”

“Why?” Will immediately wanted to know but Frankie just shook her head.

“In return they asked for my help locating someone.”

“Who?”

Frankie shot him a dark look, but Will shook his head.

“Who?” He repeated the question.

“I thought I could get to this person through Vincent and his merry band of misfits, but that didn’t work.” She revealed instead of a name.

“So why did you stay with him?” Will asked.

Frankie shrugged. “It was as good a start as any. I needed an in.”

“And the list?”

“A lucky coincidence.”

“And you think this person’s whereabouts are on that list?”

Frankie nodded.

“Well.” Will nodded as if to himself. “You’ve spent the last few months looking for this person, so I’m thinking… it’s a child. If it was an adult, you’d have cut your losses by now. But a child… that’s your soft spot.”

Will knew he’d hit a nerve when her look hardened.

“And the person you’re trying to find this child for is his or her parent, because you’d never take a child away from his family.” He continued. “You’re close to whomever contacted you. Or you were, otherwise, they wouldn’t have your devotion like that. Probably saved your life at some point.”

“That’s enough.” Frankie cut in.

“How close am I?” He saw tears again in the corner of her eyes and Frankie tried to cover them by defiantly crossing her arms. From the way she looked at him, he wondered if she was going to punch him for good measure.

When she didn’t, he dared to continue. “So, what are you doing here?”

Frankie lowered her eyes. “I need your help accessing the information on the list. It’s encrypted.”

“So…” Will frowned. “You’re here because you need _Standish_?”

Frankie had never understood Ray. How he could betray his friend only to come crawling back begging for his forgiveness. But now, as she saw Will’s gaze harden, all light leaving his eyes, she was beginning to get it.

“Yes.” She admitted with a small voice. “But it’s not like that. When I saw you at the party tonight…” Her voice trailed off.

“So, what now?” He asked, not quite meeting her eyes.

“I have the list. I’d be willing to hand it over to you, but as soon as it’s decrypted I need to take a look at it.”

“That’s it?”

Frankie nodded. “Yes. It’s one location. It’s all I need.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” He suddenly asked.

“About what?”

“Any of it.” Will gestured around. “You had the whole team behind you. We would have helped you with anything. _I_ would have helped you with anything.”

“I know I could have… handled a few things differently. But this was something I had to do by myself.” Frankie tried to explain.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Will argued. “You’re not by yourself. You haven’t been for a long time!”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” Frankie defended herself. “And frankly?! I don’t want you to! This favour… I owe this person everything. I know how much you value openness and honesty, but I will never be able to tell you more than that. Can you honestly tell me you can live with that?”

Will swallowed and just looked at her. She stood in front of him and he knew how many of her instincts she had to fight to let him see all this guilt, pain and regret in her wide eyes.

He wanted to say yes.

But he couldn’t lie to her.

“I don’t know.” He admitted.

“The best way to keep a secret is not to tell anyone.” Frankie gently said. “Even if I have to keep it from you.”

Will heaved a deep breath. “Okay. I don’t like it, but I can understand it.”

Frankie nodded, a small smile playing around her lips.

It was a start.

:

:

“Hey.” They turned to see Standish standing in the doorway. “It got really quiet in here and we were getting worried y’all had killed each other.”

“And what? You drew the short straw?” Will tried to joke.

“Yeah.” Standish admitted. “Yume actually brought some food, if you’re interested.”

“Yes!” Frankie declared enthusiastically. She was starving. And it provided her with an opportunity to get out of this emotionally charged situation.

Susan appeared behind Standish and clapped him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you and Frankie go get some food. Will and I have a few things to talk about.”

Standish’s eyes darted around his three friends nervously. “O-kay.” He said in his high, suspicious voice.

Frankie just rolled her eyes and with a last look at Will pulled the younger agent by his arm and out of the kitchen.

Will let go of a deep breath and sunk down in one of the chairs.

Susan watched as he run his hands over his face.

“What happened?” She asked.

Will just shot her a look. “You mean you haven’t been listening? I’m sure there was a bug in here somewhere.”

“Oh, I listened.” Susan admitted. “I just thought you’d like to explain a few things for me.”

“No.” Will shook his head.

Susan rolled her eyes but sat down across from him.

“Susan. I need your professional opinion.” Will admitted.

“I’d think you’ve already made up your mind.” She pointed out.

“I have.” He sighed again. “I mean, it’s Frankie. I would-“

Susan cocked her head to the side. “Do anything for her?”

“Something like that.” Will grudgingly admitted. “But somehow she’s… different. And I don’t know if I can trust myself right now. So you have to give me your take on her.”

“Professionally?”

Will nodded.

Susan took a deep breath. This was harder than she’d thought it would be. Despite everything, Frankie was her friend. And she’d never told Will about the talk they’d had in the hospital, after he’d been shot.

“What do you want to know?” She asked.

“Is she telling the truth? Can we trust her?”

Susan looked down at the tabletop. “I think this team was the closest she ever felt to someone since her parents died. And she wouldn’t just risk that for anything. Whoever this person, whatever this favour she owes, she truly believes that keeping us out of it is the right thing.”

Will just snorted.

“Despite appearances, she has a high emotional sensitivity that she guards fiercely. And she balances that with a strong sense of independence and resourcefulness. You feel like she betrayed you, but she’s just protecting herself the best way she knows. Her decision-making process does not always involve taking people’s feelings into account.”

Will just groaned and hid his face behind his hands.

“Hey.” Susan reached forward and pulled his hands down. “You asked for my _professional_ assessment.”

He slowly raised his eyebrows in understanding. “Okay. What about… personal?”

Susan shrugged. “Frankie never learned how to form lasting and trusting relationships. Her default defence mechanism has always been to fight. But she really tried to be as open with you as she could.”

She saw the confusion on his face and thinking back to the night they’d all had so far, decided to be more concise. “From what I saw tonight over the camera and from what I heard… She’s lonely.”

“Lonely? She’s used to working alone.”

“Yes, but that’s before she was part of this team. She really misses us. She misses you.”

“But can we trust her?” Will wanted to know.

Susan saw the desperation in his eyes. She knew what he wanted the answer to be. “If you’re asking me if she’s loyal to the CIA, the answer is no.”

Will hung his head.

Susan laid a hand on his arm and waited until he looked up and met her gaze.

“But if you’re asking if she’s loyal to you?! Yes. Definitely.”

:

::

:


	6. Chapter 6

“I can’t break it.” Standish admitted, breaking Frankie out of the slumber she had fallen into.

“Huh?” She roused, slowly discarding the blanket someone had draped over her as she had fallen asleep on the couch.

She had handed the USB drive over in exchange for being allowed fifteen minutes alone with the data to find the information she had been after for months now.

Will walked over towards their IT expert as well and set a fresh cup of coffee down in front of him.

“What do you mean?” He asked tiredly.

Standish swivelled around in his chair and looked up at his friends. “This is a masterpiece.” He sounded almost in awe of it. “This code is… Forget it, you wouldn’t understand.” Frankie and Will cast each other a quick look. “Anyway. The thing is… I can’t crack it.”

“Maybe you just need some rest?” Frankie suggested. They had been at this for hours now and she knew for a fact that Standish had probably not slept in close to 24 hours.

“Nuhuh.” Standish shook his head. “What I need is the master key. Without it, this USB drive is useless.”

“What’s a master key? A password?” Will asked.

“Kind of. If by password you mean-“

“Standish.” Frankie said impatiently, cutting of what was sure to be a lengthy explanation.

“Yes.” Standish nodded and settled on the layman’s term. “A really big, really complicated password.”

“Fuck.” Frankie swore under her breath.

Will looked at her. Then back at Standish. “Is there any other way?”

Standish shook his head.

Fuck indeed, Will thought.

:

::

:

“So, let me get this straight.” Susan tried to make sense of it, after she, Yume and Jai had been woken up and brought up to speed. “We have the list. But in order to access it, we have to go after the guy who sold it and get his password?!”

Will nodded.

“ _Guys, this mission is one giant clusterfuck_.” Ray chimed in over the comms.

“Thanks, Ray.” Frankie rolled her eyes.

“ _Do we even know where Suarte is_?”

Everyone looked at Standish. “What are y’all looking at me for? I was busy trying to decode the list!”

“Well, if Will had been following the mission like we’d planned it, he could have installed the tracker we’d prepared.” Yume mumbled under her breath. She looked up to find everyone else in the room looking at her. “What? Ray is right. This mission went FUBAR the moment _she_ showed up at the gala.” Yume gestured at Frankie, her tone completely matter of fact.

“Right. Moving on.” Jai cut in and gestured for Standish to let him sit down at the computer. “I think I know how to find him.”

Will watched Jai work for a moment, then he turned his gaze on Frankie and regarded her carefully.

He still couldn’t believe that she was here.

Right now, she was standing close to Susan as if subconsciously seeking her presence. She bit her lower lip and alternatingly cast a nervous glance in either Jai’s or Yume’s direction. Yume wasn’t wrong. This mission had completely gone to hell as soon as he’d spotted Frankie. But it was one thing if Susan pointed it out to him, who he was sure would never put anything in her report that could jeopardize them, or the newbie who had just started out on this team.

“Ha!” Jai exclaimed, effectively interrupting Will’s musings, and pulled up a map. “Suarte left the gala right after auctioning off his list via helicopter and is on his yacht in Cape Town. It’s set to clear port tonight.”

“If we get the jet ready right away, we could be in Cape Town in three hours.” Standish supplied.

“Yes, that would leave us just enough time to prepare.”

“ _Wait, guys, wait. You can’t be serious. Suarte has every government official between Cape Town and London in his pocket. And engaging him in an unsanctioned militant operation on foreign soil?! No. No way_!”

“Come on, Ray. Do you want us to get the list or not?” Susan asked provocatively.

“ _I can’t approve this_.”

“Ray, you’re right.” Will agreed.

“ _Well, thank you, Will_.”

“Yeah. Bye, Ray.” Will reached over and cut the line with a quick keystroke.

He looked up to find the rest of the team regarding him curiously.

“Will?” Susan carefully asked. She didn’t like the look in his eyes. It was the same recklessness that had driven him the last few months.

But Will ignored her. “Jai, can you download the specs for the yacht?”

Jai simply nodded and turned back towards the screen. It took him all of ten seconds.

“Wow.” He breathed, his eyes widening comically.

“Uhuh.” Standish, looking over his shoulder, agreed.

“That is one hell of a boat.” Susan added.

Everyone leaned in closer to take in the photos and blueprints. With roughly 350 ft. in length and several decks, including a helipad, this yacht looked like it could have taken on a combat vessel. Only the sleek blue and white paint job reminded one of its original recreational purpose.

“Okay.” Will demanded everyone’s attention. “Let’s think this through. Phase one. We have to get on the boat. Phase two. Get rid of Suarte’s goons. Phase three. Find Suarte and get his master key. Phase Four. Leave the boat.”

“How do we get on the boat?” Frankie asked.

Will met her gaze. It went without saying that he and Frankie would be the ones to board the ship.

“The marina is heavily secured; the boat only has one access that will be heavily guarded.” Standish summarised.

“What’s this?” Susan had found something on the blueprints and pointed it out to the others.

“A submarine dock.” Jai stated.

“A submarine?”

“Yeah, apparently Suarte is big on ecosystem management and stuff, trying to save the oceans.”

“Yeah, sure, what better way to do that than sail around in a giant ship running on diesel fuel.” Frankie muttered to herself.

“It’s a way in.” Will concluded. “We could dive under the ship and enter through there.”

He looked at Frankie appraisingly and she nodded without missing a beat.

“Cool, can I come?” Standish asked.

“No.” Frankie and Will said at the same time, causing Standish to sulk.

“You know what? I take it back. I didn’t miss you one bit.”

“Aww, you didn’t say you missed me.” Frankie smiled at him.

“Well, you know…” Standish shrugged.

“I missed you, too.” She nudged his shoulder.

“Great.” Will cut in. “Let’s stay focused, this is very time-sensitive.”

Standish sat up straight while Frankie shot Will a dark look. He ignored her.

“I’m thinking Ray is right.” He said instead. “Engaging Suarte in port could spell trouble for us. But we could hide in the submarine dock and wait until he leaves port. Make our move once we’re out at sea.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Jai pondered. “He probably won’t take all of his security detail with him.”

“That just leaves the part where we actually leave the ship.” Frankie observed.

“Well, if all else fails, you could take the submarine!” Yume supplied.

Standish groaned. “Oh, come on! If there’s a submarine ride, you _have_ to take me!”

“No!”

:

::

:

So far, the plan had gone off without a hitch.

After regulating the pressure as not to flood the compartment, Will pulled Frankie through the small opening they’d made into the yacht’s submarine dock.

They pulled off their oxygen masks and Will broke a few more glow sticks to shed some light. The room wasn’t very spacious, maybe twenty by forty feet. According to the blueprints, the hatch in the ceiling opened towards an observation deck that simultaneously housed the small submarine.

Frankie pulled on the tactical rope and with Will’s help hauled up the waterproof pack that held their clothes and equipment.

They hastily changed out of their wetsuits and into their tactical gear. Frankie was just fastening her thigh holster when Will held out her earpiece.

She shot him a quick smile, activated it and put it into her ear.

“Alright, we’re inside the submarine compartment.” Will informed the team. “Now all we have to do is wait for departure.”

“ _Well done, guys_.” Susan complimented them.

Will slid down a wall and settled against it with a small groan.

“You okay there, Grandpa?” Frankie ventured a smile at him, while she rubbed her hair with a towel in an effort to dry it.

 “Hey, between the auction, getting shot at, planning this little venture off the top of our heads and diving for close to an hour, it’s not like I had a lot of recovery time.” He defended himself.

“Oh please, I saw you take a nap on the flight here. You drooled into your shirt and everything.” Frankie countered and settled herself against the wall across from him, their feet next to each other.

They could hear Standish snickering over the comms. “ _It’s really good to have you back, Frankie. Between the Incredible Sulk and Sigmund Freud over here, it’s not been the same without you_.”

“ _Hey_!” Susan protested her nickname.

“Thank you, Standish.”

“ _But honestly? What took you so long? I was beginning to worry you wouldn't be back. Wait. You’re back, right? You're not just going to vanish into the night again, are you_?”

Frankie met Will’s gaze across from her but couldn’t say anything.

After a moment, he looked away. “Let’s focus on the mission. When are we scheduled to leave the port?”

Frankie swallowed at the disappointment lodged in her throat.

“ _No. Uhuh. We are not_ not _talking about this. What’s going on_?”

Will sighed. “Standish--”

“ _No. We finally have her back, I want to keep her_.”

“ _Will_?” Susan asked.

“Maybe Frankie doesn’t even want to stay.” Will pointed out.

“I do.” She said sharply, her eyes furiously set on Will.

“ _That’s it. Those in favour, say Aye_.” Standish announced.

“ _Aye._ ” Susan, Standish and Jai said in unison.

“Well, charming as this is, this is not a democracy.” Will sullenly objected.

“ _What’s with you, man? You spent all this time looking for her and now you don’t want her back_?”

Frankie took a deep breath. “Standish, mute us.”

“ _What_?”

“Mute us.” She didn’t wait for confirmation before she shuffled over and sat down next to Will. Maybe not having to face each other made this easier.

“Let’s talk.”

“What?”

“Let’s talk about this.” She repeated forcefully.

“Frankie, you hate talking.”

“Yes, but right now I don’t see another way out of this.”

“Are you being serious?”

“Yes!” God, he was infuriating.

“We’re right in the middle of something, here.” He pointed out.

Frankie gestured around them. “Actually, we’re waiting for this ship to leave port and then to reach international waters. This is going to take a while.”

Will turned to fully look at her. “Are you actually going to answer my questions, or are you going to keep stalling and deflecting?”

Frankie swallowed at his intense gaze and forced herself to answer calmly. “As long as you don’t ask me who I’m doing this favour for, or who or what I’m looking for then…” She slowly nodded her head. “I’ll think about it.”

Will’s lips twitched. This was as good as he was going to get. He let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Frankie waited.

And waited.

Eventually, she turned to face him. “I said let’s talk.” She reminded him. “Normally you don’t need an invitation to blabber your mouth off.”

Will nodded and took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was deliberate.

“Whatever the two of us were… we had really come together as a team.” He gestured around the room.

“It’s okay, you can say it.” Frankie smiled discreetly. “We were a family.”

“Thank you! Yes, we were.” He took another deep breath, clearly quarrelling with himself. “How could you just leave all that behind? Did you not think that we would have helped you? Did you ever think of us? Of me?”

Frankie swallowed and tried to cover the sudden lump in her throat with a watery smile. “Well. After not seeing you for months I made out with you in a bathroom five minutes after we met. What do you think?”

Will chuckled, but there was no humour behind it.

Tentatively, Frankie reached over and took hold of his hand. After a moment, he allowed her to weave her fingers between his.

“I missed you. A lot.” She whispered in rare honesty. “And I didn’t mean to hurt you. I know I did!” She quickly added. “But I…”

“But what?” He asked with a new edge in his voice. “You didn’t think I’d care this much? You remember the way I went after Emma’s killer, and I’d only been with her for _weeks_. What did you think I’d do when you left?”

He thought back on what Susan had told him about Frankie. That her decision-making process didn’t always involve taking people’s feelings into account.

It sucked.

He pulled his hand out of her grasp.

“I know you’ve always had trouble trusting people. But I really thought we’d be different. I’d have had your back.”

Frankie’s jaw clenched. “Okay, newsflash. You were not my boyfriend, you were not my husband, we were not in a relationship. I just wish you’d get over this notion that I somehow betrayed you!”

It was the wrong thing to say.

Their eyes met, his furious, hers apologetic and she knew they were both thinking about their last mission together in Manila.

About the moment he’d been shot, and Frankie had cried out his name, leaving her cover to get to him.

About the way she’d cradled his head in her hands, pleading with him not to leave her.

About the way she’d cuddled up to him in his hospital bed hours later.

Will just raised his eyebrows, daring her to repeat her statement.

Frankie watched him intently but didn’t say anything.

She couldn’t lie anymore. But she couldn’t tell the truth either.

She swallowed to clear her throat. “I know you feel like I betrayed you. Like I didn’t trust you. But you’re wrong. Do you remember how I got shot in Paris when we met?”

They exchanged a quick glance.

Of course he did.

“You had to cut out that bullet and you asked me to trust you.” Frankie recalled tentatively. “I did. And I never stopped.” She smiled at him, trying to reassure him.

“Then tell me why you couldn’t tell me about any of this. Why you still can’t tell me.”

Frankie heaved a deep breath. “You’re a Boy Scout. You’re so honourable and good, you’re basically Captain America.”

“Before or after Civil War?”

His attempt at levity was short-lived.

He briefly cast a thought to the last months since he’d lain in that hospital and learned of her disappearance.

The things he’d done to find her… the things he’d been willing to do if only for a sliver of information on her… She wouldn’t call him a Boy Scout if she knew half of it.

He’d have done whatever it took.

And he’d do it again.

Frankie noticed the change in him but rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “What I mean is…  You’re a good guy. And there are things about me I’ll never be able to tell you because I only want you to see the best of me.”

At her words, Will’s eyes flickered all over her face. She looked almost shy while his own expression morphed from confused and questioning into understanding. Slightly shaking his head, a tentative smile started to form on his lips.

“ _Aww, that’s so sweet_.” Susan’s voice unexpectedly sounded over their comms.

Their gazes met in sudden understanding.

“What happened to muting the comms?!” Will asked as he held her eyes, throwing her a soft smile, reaching for her hand again. Frankie gave it to him.

“ _What, and miss all this? It’s not like we didn’t suffer with you this whole time_! _We deserve this_!”

Frankie rolled her eyes and briefly rested her forehead on his shoulder.

“ _But seriously, girl_.” Standish joined the conversation. “ _This is supposed to be your best side? You tried to kill me not ten minutes after meeting me!_ ”

“Still haven’t ruled it out.” Frankie mumbled and Will chuckled.

“ _Don’t listen to him_! _He’s just mad because he won’t get to ride in a submarine today_.” Susan tried to explain.

“You know he’s got a point.” Will pointed out. “You regularly threaten to shoot everyone around us. Including me!”

“ _You’re a perfect gem, Francesca_.” Jai proclaimed.

“Big picture, Will.” Frankie stated instead.

Will’s eyes widened as something else came to his mind. “You always steal my sweatshirts.”

“Yes. Because hotel rooms are freezing!”

“And you eat my fries!”

Frankie reluctantly nodded. “Fine, yes. But I always pick the cilantro off your food because you’re afraid you’re offending people if you told them you don’t want any.”

“True.”

“And I let you have the last of my pizza when I’m full.” She added hastily and looked at him in triumph.

Will smiled at that. His free hand moved up and stroked over her cheek.

“ _But your pizza always has pineapple on it, so does that really count?!_ ”

Frankie rolled her eyes and rested her head on Will’s shoulder. “Standish!? Shut up.”

:

::

:

 

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Will rubbed his hands over his tired eyes and glanced at his watch. 21.40.

They’d been sitting here for more than an hour now. He put the yacht’s blueprints and his flashlight aside and looked down at Frankie as she dozed against his shoulder. He could barely make out the shimmer of her hair in the waning light of the glow sticks.

She hadn’t been wrong.

He’d slept on the flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town, but apart from the short nap early this morning while Standish had tried to decode the list, he doubted she’d had any rest since they’d met last night.

He took another deep breath.

He just wanted this mess to be over.

Maybe then he could finally sift through these warring feelings that had him wound tighter than a coil.

He was angry. And he was hurt.

These feelings had been his constant companions for months now. They had fuelled him, and he felt he had a right to them. And dammit, he wanted to stay angry. But with every passing hour in Frankie’s company, it became harder and harder to hold onto. She had been back for less than 48 hours, if she was even back at all, and she was already chipping away at the armour he had built for himself.

Will wasn’t an idiot.

He’d seen the way she’d latched on to Susan, had hugged Standish and rubbed her hand over Jai’s arm.

She had genuinely missed them.

Which in and of itself was probably a novelty for her.

And he believed her when she said that she hadn’t meant to hurt him.

And yet he knew with complete certainty that he’d not get an apology from her. Not even an explanation.

The others seemed to be fine with that.

For now, at least.

He wasn’t so sure about himself.

:

::

Frankie roused against his shoulder a short time later. She sat up and stretched her back. Then she, too, looked at her watch.

“I don’t know if it’s the lack of sleep in the last 24 hours or the tight space in here…”

“Yeah.” Will knew what she was getting at. “We should release some oxygen from the tanks. Just to be sure.”

Frankie shuffled over towards their abandoned gear and opened the valve on one of the tanks. A small hissing sound signalled the release of oxygen into the compartment.

She closed it again a minute later and turned back around to face Will.

The glow sticks had dimmed considerably over the last hour and they could both only recognise shadows in the other’s face.

Frankie seemed to pick up on his tension. Whatever headway they’d made earlier, it hadn’t been enough to mend the rift between them. More like a band-aid on a bullet wound.

“Can we talk?” She asked.

“Would it make a difference if I said no?”

Judging from the look on her face, it wouldn’t. Will glanced at his watch again. “Fifteen minutes until we leave the harbour, approximately an hour before we reach international waters.”

“Right.” Frankie commented. She pulled the comm device out of her ear and turned it off. If they hadn’t been detected until now, they could afford a minute of uninterrupted privacy.

After a moment’s hesitation, Will followed her example.

“I want to make two things clear.”

“Okay.” Will said cautiously.

He didn’t need to see her every expression to know that this was difficult for her. The movement of her head let him know that she was looking down at her hands. One of her rare nervous gestures.

“You were right.”

“I know it’s already killing you to say that, but you’ll have to be more specific.”

Frankie let out a short laugh before turning sombre again. “This thing with us… it wasn’t just sex.”

“I know.” There was no infliction in his voice. He had been there. Had seen the way she’d looked at him. Having her pretend otherwise had only added to the hurt.

“And in case that wasn’t clear earlier, I want back on the team.”

“Frankie--”

“No.” She interrupted him, her tone more forceful this time. “I want back on the team. I know I screwed up. I know that! And if I had to do it again, I probably would.”

Will let his head fall back against the wall he was sitting against. As far as apologies went, she still sucked at them.

Frankie scooted forward to be closer to him.

“Look. I know I always made fun of Ray for trying to get back into your good books after what he did to you, but I get it now. I get it! You once trusted me with your life and… with everything else. And that was the most empowering and amazing feeling! I want that back.”

Will leaned forward. “If something like this happened again--”

“It won’t!”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do!”

“Just, tell me what to do.”

“What?” Frankie frowned.

“Well, first Ray hooked up with my girlfriend. And then just when I think you and I--”

“Stop. Right there.” Frankie ordered sharply. “Is that what this is about? Because if it is, let me be perfectly clear here. There was _nothing_ you could have done differently. I know exactly what I had, and I let it go anyway, because that’s what I had to do. My leaving was not your fault, Will.”

He didn’t respond.

Frankie shuffled forward, damning his deceitful mind. “Look at me.” She ordered.

Will lifted his gaze and she could see the shimmer in his eyes.

“It was not your fault.”

“Do you trust me then?”

She hesitated a moment too long. “I want to.”

Will drew in a breath as if to say something, but Frankie reached over and cupped his face before he could. “Will, please. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. Don’t give up on me.”

Will pulled his head out of her grasp but caught her falling hands with his own and held on to them.

“I’m not. But I think I need to be angry and hurt for a little while.”

Frankie nodded, swallowing against the tightness in her throat.

“Hey.” Will let go with his left hand and instead moved his hand up to cradle her head. “I don’t know if I said it yet, but I’m really glad you’re back.”

Frankie just shot him a watery smile and let herself be pulled forward.

The kiss they shared was nothing like the one from the night before. It was gentle, almost cautious, as if both of them were testing out the waters. And yet, it felt more like coming home than Frankie could have anticipated.

Will’s lips moved softly against hers, only releasing her when he needed to catch his breath. He leaned back and his eyes searched her face.

Frankie threw him a mischievous smile and used the hold she had on his vest to push him back against the wall of their compartment.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

Frankie got to her knees and lessened the distance between them until she could straddle his thighs.

“Frankie.” Despite his warning tone, his hands immediately wound around her waist.

“Maybe there’s a way for me to alleviate some of that anger…?” She playfully whispered against his lips. Will groaned but made no move to dislodge her from his lap.

Frankie tenderly pressed her lips against his forehead, then his temple. She moved down to his cheekbone, leaving a searing kiss there before moving further along his jaw while her hands combed through his hair.

“Is it working?”

“Don’t know, I think you missed a spot.” He murmured.

Will’s fingers twisted in her shirt as Frankie chuckled and moved in to kiss him again. His lips were soft against hers and Frankie pressed herself closer against him. She nipped on his bottom lip and Will gladly opened his mouth and deepened the kiss.  A small moan escaped her as Will managed to get his hands under her shirt. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin where he managed to caress it.

:

::

:

Standish and Jai busied themselves on the deck of a yacht about two hundred yards away while keeping a close look on Suarte’s boat.

“It’s Fort Knox over there.” Jai commented as he checked on the yacht with his binoculars.

“Classic overcompensation, am I right?” Standish tried for a joke.

Jai just shot him a disapproving frown. “No.”

“Alright.” Standish grumbled and tried for the third time to coil the rope in front of his feet. “Can you at least help me with this?”

“What?” Jai lowered the binoculars and took in the mess Standish had made. “What are you doing? These were done pristinely.”

“Look, man. I’m a black kid from Brooklyn who just happened to be good with computers. I didn’t exactly have a chance to find my sea legs.”

Jai just muttered to himself while he thrust the binoculars against Standish’s chest and cleaned up the tangled rope.

“Thank you, Jai.” Standish sing-songed.

“Whatever.” Jai grumbled when he was done. He gestured at the neat coil he’d formed. “Don’t touch that again.”

Standish held up his hands. “Promise. You know just in case that was somehow lost in all the craziness that happened today, I’m really glad to see you again.”

Jai looked up at the younger man’s sincere words. “Thank you. It’s good to see you again, too.”

Standish offered his fist and Jai had to smile as he bumped it.

“I know that you left because Will was kind of an ass, but… I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you more.”

Jai just shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. You did what you could. The situation wasn’t easy. And I know that your relationship with Will is… complex.”

“But still. You and me, we’re bros. I should have had your back.” Standish pointed out. “What have you been up to all this time?”

“I was mostly stationed at Langley. I designed a new micro tracker.” Jai disclosed.

“You injected Will and Frankie with that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.” Jai reached for the binoculars and checked on the yacht their friends were hiding out on. “Looks like they’re about to leave, they’re hauling in the gangway.”

“Right on schedule.”

:

::

:

The rumbling of the ship’s engine broke Will out of his undertaking.

“Frankie.” He panted against the skin of her neck, eliciting a smile from her. His hands disentangled from underneath her shirt and moved to stroke over her thighs.

“Suarte has the worst timing.” She panted and pressed a last lingering kiss against his lips.

Maybe better now than ten minutes from now, Will thought to himself.

Frankie climbed down from his lap, her legs decidedly unsteady much to Will’s pride and collected their earpieces. She handed one over to Will while inserting her own. Then she ran a quick hand through her hair to regain some semblance of control.

“Alright, looks like we’re about to depart.” Will reported.

“ _Yeah, no shit, Sherlock_.” Susan commented on the other end. “ _Where the hell have you two been? Wait, you know what, I don’t want to know!_ ”

Will and Frankie’s gazes met and she shot him a self-satisfied smirk. Will just rolled his eyes.

“ _Is this going to happen on every mission now? Because I am all for Mom and Dad making up, but I don’t want to have to witness it_!”

“You didn’t witness anything!” Frankie pointed out.

“ _I don’t need to see it to know it’s happening, girl_.”

“Alright.” Will stopped any further argument. “Let’s go over the blueprints again. Maybe we can find a way to Suarte without having to fight every one of his guards on here. And Standish, stop calling us Mom and Dad, it’s freaking me out.”

:

::

:

Will rigged the hydraulic pliers to the overhead patch as they waited for Jai’s signal. Frankie meanwhile checked their rifles and guns one last time.

“ _Okay. You’re ten miles out of South African territory. Any further and making your way back to shore could be too difficult. You should go_.” Jai informed them.

“How long do we have before we’re too far out?” Will asked just in case.

“ _I’d say about thirty minutes at the current speed_.”

“Understood.” Will’s gaze met hers. “Let’s get this over with so we can go home.”

Frankie smiled to herself.

Home.

It sounded perfect.

Will activated the pliers, then ushered her back as far as possible as it worked the hatch open.

“Hey.” Frankie touched his sleeve until Will looked at her. She pressed a quick kiss against his lips. “Good luck.”

Will nodded and shot her a small smile.

Then the hatch opened with a metallic groan. They were in.

Will was the first one through, his weapon drawn.

“Clear.” He pulled Frankie up after him.

A short look a round confirmed their position in the ship. The small submarine hung suspended by wire rope above their heads and a small control unit sat against the side of the room. Together they walked over towards the door that would lead them out into the hallway.

They were on the lowest deck. If their assumptions were correct, Suarte would be some three levels up from them in his private area. There were two hatches leading up from this deck. One at the stern and the bow each. One would lead them through the engine room, which was the way they had decided on, expecting less personnel.

Taking slow, deep breaths, Frankie stood to the side of the door and readied her gun. Will’s hand was on the handle and he waited for her signal.

She nodded and he jerked open the door, immediately lifting his gun and securing the hallway. It was empty.

Together they made their way to the stern of the yacht, carefully inspecting every nook and cranny.

Will lifted his closed fist to signal her to stop the same moment Frankie registered the footsteps. “The security patrol is early.” His voice was low in her ear.

“I guess good personnel is hard to find.” She quipped and ducked into a side hallway. Will was right behind her.

“We could take them.” She whispered.

“No. Let’s try to keep our presence here undetected for as long as possible.”

“Spoilsport.”

The footsteps grew closer and Frankie could practically feel the tension rising in her partner. But the footfalls distanced themselves as they walked past their location and further down the hallway.

Glancing at Frankie, Will gave her a small nod which she reciprocated. Time to move.

They passed the engine room and reached the narrow metal ladder that would lead them one level up. They had both studied the blueprints intensively and knew that the next level housed the crewmembers and kitchen. This time of night, they didn’t expect too much resistance.

They were wrong.

Despite the low lighting in the narrow hallway, Will spotted the four armed men immediately as they rounded the corner.

Unfortunately, they spotted him as well.

He lowered himself to make less of a target of himself and started firing the same moment they did. Frankie followed his lead, firing just over his left shoulder. The four men ducked behind the corner they had just passed, but Frankie and Will still managed to hit one each.

Still providing cover fire with her right hand, Frankie latched onto Will’s tactical vest with her left and pulled him backwards with her. They needed cover. Fast.

Thankfully a cabin door to their right was unlocked. Frankie opened it and stepped back to let Will enter while she still returned fire. Once Will was inside, she followed him, quickly closing the door.

“So much for staying undetected.” He lamented, quickly checking the clip in his rifle.

Frankie just huffed. The small cabin could only provide brief cover and they needed a quick way out of this. With bunk beds and a desk, there was barely enough room to manoeuvre in here.

Will frantically looked around. They only had seconds. In the end he shoved Frankie into the corner behind the door, climbed on the upper bed and plastered himself to the ceiling, his arms and legs holding him up against the narrow walls in a starfish position.

Frankie just had time to smirk up at him while she exchanged her rifle for the gun strapped to her right thigh. She knew from experience that holding oneself suspended like that was brutal.

Then the wooden cabin door exploded with gun shots. Frankie turned her face into the wall to shield it from debris, thankful for the impenetrable metal wall around her. Her heartbeat quickened further when the guards pushed what was left of the door open. She shot a last look up at Will.

The guards, clearly surprised not to see them in the small compartment, stepped forward.

Their mistake.

Will dropped down on the first while Frankie took care of the following one.

It was over in mere seconds.

“Okay.” She huffed and pushed her hair away from her face. “That was fun.”

“For you maybe.” Will grumbled.

“I think we should split up.”

He looked at her with wide eyes and shook his head. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“Look. Jai said there’d be what, fifteen, twenty people on board? We just took out four of them. They know we are here. Our best chance is to divide the field.”

“I don’t like it.” Will repeated.

Frankie rolled her eyes. “I know you don’t. But it’s our best shot.”

He took a deep breath. “Fine. What do you have in mind?”

“You should head to the bow, cause a distraction. Hopefully that’ll draw enough of them away from Suarte.”

“What about you?”

Frankie turned towards the porthole opposite from the door. “I’ll find myself one of those that I’ll actually fit through and climb up to the Suarte’s private deck.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. “I really feel like I should say this again. This is a terrible idea.”

Frankie’s eyes flashed in anger. “Do you have a better one?”

He sighed, then nodded, resigning himself to this operation. “Honey!?”

Frankie frowned at him.

“You don’t happen to have a grenade or two on you, do you?”

:

::

:

Frankie cursed herself as she clung to the ship’s hull with aching fingers. Maybe her plan could have used a little work. Not that she’d ever admit that.

She tried to recall the ship’s layout as she balanced herself on a narrow ledge and slowly inched towards the back of the ship. She dared a look up, the wind throwing cold sea water into her face. But there they were. Large panorama windows, indicating that she was right below the living room. Just one more floor up, over the rail and she’d be there.

All she had to do now was wait for Will’s distraction.

“What’s taking you so long?” She hissed into her comms.

“ _Sorry_.” He sounded winded. “ _I’ll have to call you back, honey_.” She heard a gunshot. “ _Little busy right now._ ”

Frankie smirked despite the pain in her shoulder. That dork.

It took another minute before she heard from him again.

“ _Okay. I’m in position. You ready_?”

“Finally.” She muttered.

“ _Hold on tight, Frankie. I’m about to rock this boat_.”

She cringed. “Seriously?! That was so--” She couldn’t get any further in her complaint as an explosion rocked through the entire ship and it took all of her strength and sheer stubbornness to hold on to the rail above her head.

“Will? That felt more like you were trying to sink this damn ship!”

No answer.

“Will, are you okay? Will!” She shrieked.

A door above opened and heavy footsteps carried over the top deck. Frankie tried to calm her racing heart.

“Will! Answer me, dammit!”

After a few moments of heavy silence, Frankie had to move. Her muscles protested as she pulled herself up and over the railing. She landed on the deck in a crouch and quickly scanned her surroundings. She seemed to be alone.

“Will.” She tried one more time. “Fuck.”

She had to keep going, no matter how much she yearned to go and check on her partner. She turned left, in the direction of the door and after quickly checking through the porthole, stemmed it open. The yacht looked decidedly different up here than down in the engine room and crew quarters. These open spaces, filled with a grand piano, a bar and enough sofas and couches to sit in a different spot each day of the month looked more like a luxurious penthouse. The mirrors on the wall to her left contributed to that feeling. Thankfully, the space was empty.

She knew that the bridge was one deck up, but Suarte’s private rooms had to be just through the doors to her left. She slowly inched forward, struggling with the feeling that something was definitely fishy here.

Glancing around, she released her gun from her thigh holster and proceeded with a tight grip on it. She just wanted to open the door in front of her when it swung open and a crew member with a machine gun stepped through. He trained it on Frankie, but she was faster. With a swift shove against the barrel, she knocked it to the side and against the wall. She stepped forward and thrust her elbow into his throat. A well-placed punch against his temple knocked him out completely.

Only the sound of a safety being pulled off a gun made her pause.

She turned around slowly.

Suarte stood a few feet away from her, a smug grin on his face.

Right in front of her, with the barrel of his gun directly in her face, stood Gabe, Vincent’s brother.

“Well done, Layla.” Suarte commented “I doubt that is your name, but I like it. Welcome on the _Borealis_.”

:

::

:

Will took one hard look at Frankie’s retreating form, then he made his way to the front of the yacht. He didn’t know what exactly he’d do yet, but he figured he’d find something to blow up once he got to the bow.

He rounded the banister at the landing between decks and quickly ducked back as he heard someone moving one level up. He was glad for the gun in his hand. The MP-5 they had packed for this trip was known for its penetration power, but useless when shooting in close proximity. He waited another moment, but the steps lead away from him. Perfect.

He quickly walked up the steep staircase, checked that no one was around, and kept going. As soon as he opened the door to the outside deck, a cold wind whipped around his head.

“How are you doing, Frankie?” He asked.

Her voice carried clearly over his earpiece. Her irritation did as well. “ _Remind me later that I hate ships_.”

Will chuckled. “Will do.”

His eyes scanned the foredeck and landed on the helicopter that was roped down on the helipad.

“Do you know how to fly a helicopter?”

“ _Which kind_?” She sounded breathless.

“What?”

“ _Which kind of helicopter?_ ”

“Which kind do you know how to fly?”

“ _None of them_.”

Will rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. If neither of them knew how to fly one of these, they didn’t necessarily have to keep it. He kept it in mind as a potential target before crossing from port to starboard, staying as low as possible.

“Hey, do you remember what’s under the helipad?”

Frankie groaned in his ear.

“Hey, you okay?”

“ _Fine_.”

“Yeah? Because you don’t sound fine.” Will needlessly pointed out.

“ _And I don’t remember. Some kind of storage space. Have you found a distraction yet? I’m nearly in position_.”

“Yeah, I’m working on it, hang on.”

Will quickly turned but there was no one around watching him. Then he hurried over towards the hatch he’d spotted. He pried it open, gun drawn, but couldn’t see anyone.

He climbed down the ladder and fingered his flashlight out of his vest pocket. A small whistle escaped his lips at what he saw in front of him.

He let his flashlight jump over various differently sized crates and cases. He knew what was inside most of them without having to open them. This was less of a storage space and more of an ammunition store. And exactly the kind of distraction they’d been looking for. He wouldn’t even have to use Frankie’s grenades. With the fire power in here he had to be more careful not to accidentally sink this thing.

He quickly got three of Jai’s special devices out of his pack, activated them, linked them to his watch and deposited them in strategically vulnerable places. He made sure to stay away from the yacht’s outer hull.

When he was done, he turned back towards the ladder and climbed back outside.

“Hey! What are you doing there?”

Will spun around. He’d been made.

The guard hadn’t yet seen his face and Will kept it that way as he walked up to him as if he belonged there. Only when he was close enough to block the rifle coming his way, did he spring into action.

Will grabbed a hold of the man’s wrist, turned and twisted it as he ducked under his shoulder.

“ _What’s taking you so long_?” Frankie asked in his ear.

Will grimaced. Subduing this man was not as easy as he’d hoped. “Sorry. I’ll have to call you back, honey.” He clamped down on his assailant’s shoulder and hauled him sideways against the metal railing. A shot from his AK-47 went wide, missing Will. “Little busy right now.”

Finally, he managed to get him into a choke hold and applied pressure until the guard went slack under his arms. He let out a deep breath and quickly checked his surroundings. No one seemed to have noticed the commotion. Good.

He moved further away, taking cover behind a double bitt bollard.

“Okay, I’m in position. You ready?”

“ _Finally_.”

“Hold on tight, Frankie. I’m about to rock this boat.”

Will didn’t have to see her to know that she was probably rolling her eyes at him. Whatever she’d had to say, it got lost in the explosion as he pushed the trigger.

Heat engulfed him and Will had to hold on to the bollard as the shock wave hit him. When everything had settled, Will staggered to his feet. Swallowing a curse, he had to fight against the dizziness. His ears were ringing, and he wriggled them to make it stop.

“ _Will, are you okay? Will_!”

Her voice sounded foggy in his ears. Damnit.

“Remind me to yell at Jai later.” He mumbled, trying to blink away the last vestiges of haze hanging over him. He had to get away from here.

“ _Will! Answer me, dammit_!”

“Frankie?” He paused. “Frankie, can you hear me?”

“ _Will_.” The waver in her voice was unmistakable. “ _Fuck_.”

Will pulled his earpiece out of his ear, turned it off and back on again. “Frankie?” No response.

:

::

:

Frankie held her hands up as Gabe divested her of her various weapons. She followed him with an icy glare.

Suarte stood by, watching the whole thing. “I always knew Vincent was underestimating you. The boy simply didn’t have it in him.”

Frankie’s eyes darted over towards the older man. She refused to give him any more ammunition.

“So, is that him, blowing up my ship?” Suarte asked.

“Can’t be.” Gabe spoke for the first time. “Shot the bastard myself as soon as the lights went out.”

Frankie cocked an eyebrow at that new information. And she was happy to notice that he had missed the knife underneath her belt at the small of her back.

Gabriel looked her up and down. “I knew I should have shot you too when I had the chance.”

“Yeah? Go ahead and make my day.” Frankie hissed.

“That’s enough.” Suarte interrupted them. “What do you want?”

“The list would be a nice start.”

Suarte just laughed as he turned towards the bar and started mixing himself a drink.

Frankie kept her eyes carefully trained on Gabe, waiting for a moment to strike. She didn’t know how many men were still left on this boat and she had no idea where Will was or what shape he was in. Right now, facing off against Gabe and Suarte might be the best chance she got.

If he would just give her an opening.

“So… Layla.” Suarte sat down in a plush white leather couch and turned his tumbler in his hand, seemingly lost in thought. Frankie knew that he was anything but. “You and whoever is with you did quite a bit of damage to my beautiful ship.”

“Really? It’s a bit gaudy for my taste.”

That earned her a slap from Gabe so forceful, it almost brought her to her knees.

She licked away the blood on her lips and shot him a blazing look. He just sneered at her in return.

Suarte kept talking as if nothing had happened.  

“I’m really wracking my brain how I should make you pay. You see, I _am_ very fond of you. And I’m wondering if you couldn’t be of good use to me.”

The small flicker in the mirror opposite her was the only warning Frankie got. In the next moment, the windows on the far side exploded on a hail of glass.

Frankie didn’t hesitate. She advanced on Gabe while she saw Will going for Suarte out of the corner of her eyes. The element of surprise was on her side, but the grip he had on his gun was tighter than she had anticipated. She managed to land a punch against his throat and a knee against his sternum, but he was ready for her as she tried to make a grab for his gun.

He grabbed her fist in one quick move, pulling and turning it in an angle no human fist was supposed to move. Frankie swallowed a cry of pain and instead reached for her knife. She tried to stab him, but he turned at just the right time. Instead, she caught his right forearm which caused him to drop his gun. Frankie kicked it away, sparing a small glance in Will’s direction.

Next, she tried to punch Gabe again, but she stood no chance against his massive form. He landed a few hard and painful blows against her until he took her down with a swift kick to her hip. Falling hard, all air was expunged from her lungs as she landed on her chest. She turned around gasping, just in time to dodge a kick to her head.

She got to her feet as fast as she could, but the blood rushing through her ears made her feel dizzy. She looked down at her left arm, wondering why she couldn’t lift it properly.

On the other side of the room, Will finally managed to land a few solid blows against Suarte, knocking him out with a final hit against his temple.

Frankie’s cry of pain let him swirl around. He saw Gabe standing over her and pulled his gun without hesitation, firing three bullets into his chest in rapid succession.

“Frankie.” He quickly checked her over, noting the way she cradled her arm to her chest. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” She hissed with sudden anger. “Where the hell have you been? And what the hell happened to the comms?”

Will decided that appearances aside, Frankie was fine.

:

::

:

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate writing action scenes. So I apologize for whatever this turned out to be.


End file.
